Paper Questions
by VFDFandoms
Summary: I had an idea for this sort-of future, sort-of AU All The Wrong Questions fanfic, where the plot is very similar to Paper Towns but it has little ATWQish twists to it, and a Snicketish feel, with the ATWQ characters and world, I guess. Ellimony, mentions of cake and possibly Kellar/Moxie. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

I had come to this town to investigate a fire, not Ellington Feint.

I was only 14 and I was wrong, I was wrong about all of it.

This is the story of how Ellington Feint came and went.

Chapter One.

It was the middle of the night when she crawled through the window, sneaking around theodora and perching on the edge of my bed, her green eyes aglow. I sat up, shocked. "Ellington? What the hell?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Hello, Snicket. I have a considerable list of things I need to do tonight, and I need someone to help me do said things," She whispered, smirking that smile that could've meant anything. Her black hair was darker than normal, and the raven-hued face paint brought out the deep green in her eyes. I sat up and pulled on my clothes, plus a Ski Mask. She was checking me out and I knew it, but I didn't have time to worry about that. "What do you need me to do?" I asked quietly.

"This, my dear Snicket, is a revenge plot. There's nothing too illegal involved, don't worry. No killing or maiming." She responded, grinning a little darkly. I grinned back. "I'm in." I decided. "Good." She pulled me close and kissed me fiercely. My eyes closed and I could hear our heartbeats in my ears. I kissed her back. "Damn, Snicket. Where'd you learn to kiss like that?" She teased.

I rolled my eyes. "You." She beckoned me as she slid out the window, landing catlike on the ground. I followed not so gracefully, landing on my back. I gasped for breath. The oxygen had been knocked out of me, and I was coughing painstakingly.

Ellington ran over and knelt beside me, concerned. "Can you breathe? Are you ok? Shit, I'm sorry." She exclaimed. I rolled onto my stomach, coughing and gasping. She pressed one hand to my chest gently and started running the other through my dark hair. "Sorry." I rasped, taking deep breaths. "Don't apologize." She murmured, and helped me up.

"Where to first?" I asked.

"Hmm.. I'm thinking we could TP the Mitchum's car." She decided. I grinned. "I'm all for it." I said. In my heart I was nervous they would know it was me. She pulled a roll of toilet paper out of her backpack and smiled the smile that could've meant anything. We walked to the police station, where the police car was parked for the night. She grinned wickedly and started wrapping the roll around the car.

She wrapped and when she tore it off she left a long piece. She did the same the opposite way. Ellington then tied it into a fancy bow. She stepped back and admired her handiwork. "Nice." I commented. She smiled and kissed me on the cheek. I kissed her too. "Where to next?" I inquired. "Hmm... We're going to give Stew Mitchum hell, or confuse the frick out of him." She told me. "Hell. Yes." I whispered.

Ellington grinned. "I knew you'd say that. Ok. I'm going to tape his fifth grade yearbook picture all around his room and around town." She finished, and reached into her backpack. She pulled out the photos and I collapsed to my knees, laughing. She pressed a hand over my mouth and I stopped. I took a deep breath and stood. "This is genius. You, Ellington Feint,are a genius." I murmured, and she smirked. "Oh really?" She bit her lip, and suddenly she was kissing me. Hard. I was kissing her back.

We pulled back, grinning.

"This is going to be the best night of your life." She whispered.

"It already is."


	2. Chapter 2

When we reached the Mitchum residence, we managed to locate Stew Mitchum's room.

The plans were made. We crawled through the window. Ellington taped a photo to every mirror and door, and I taped some to the wall.

My heart seemingly stopped when he sat up, terrified and angry. Ellington, thinking quickly, threw his blankets back over him, but he still managed to punch me in the face and arms, hard, and kick me aggressively in the stomach a few times. I doubled over, gasping. Ellington grabbed my hand and pulled me through the window. She jumped down easily.

Me, not so much. I twisted my ankle and she pulled me up, dragging me along the streets toward Black Cat Coffee. I pulled free and took her wrist instead, and we both sprinted to the Mallahan lighthouse. I knocked on the door, hoping that Moxie would be up. She answered the door, looking a little tired and surprised, then shocked when she saw the blood dripping from my nose. I struggled to breathe, wheezing and shuddering. "What the _hell_ happened?" She asked. "Stew Mitchum happened." I coughed. She led me and Ellington inside and told us to sit down. I didn't have to hear that twice. My knees buckled and my vision went black, but only for about a minute.

My side was seemingly on fire and my nose was still dripping blood. I was dizzy. Ellington caught me, helped me to the couch, and handed me a tissue. I leaned forward and pressed it to my nose, trying to stem the blood flow. I coughed and tasted blood in my mouth. Ellington looked at me in worry. I weakly smiled, feeling ill. Moxie walked back over, carrying a mug of coffee for Ellington and a bag of ice for myself. I took it gratefully and pressed it to my side. "So, what's the story?" She asked, pulling out her laptop. I swallowed back the coppery liquid in my mouth.

"It's a revenge plot. So far we've TP-ed the Mitchum's car and taped Stew Mitchum's fifth grade yearbook photo all over his room. We planned to put u-up mo-" I started coughing again, trying not to hyperventilate and pass out. Moxie looked over at Ellington, with a look that said "what happened?". Ellington saw this. "He got attacked by Mitchum. I don't know how the hell he got here without me having to freaking carry him." She explained. Adrenaline, I thought. I leaned heavily into Ellington's shoulder, feeling the fatigue and nausea at last. She ruffled my hair. "Can I join in on this revenge plot?" Moxie asked. "Of course. Pick a victim or a place." Ellington smiled. "Oh, I know a place." She grinned devilishly.

"The dam."

My eyes widened. "That's suicide." She shrugged. "I used to go up there all the time. When my mom left, I spent days up there. It wasn't like my dad knew or cared." There was a note of sadness in her voice. I winced, holding the ice closer to my side. "You should rest." Ellington gently informed me. "And miss out on all of the fun? No way." I mumbled, but she was right. Not that I'd listen. I'd had worse injuries. Moxie pushed her curly hair out of her eyes and sighed. "You really are a stubborn little shit, aren't you?" I beamed at her. "Guilty as charged." She looked at me, eyes a little sparkly. "On one condition:There's someone I want to bring."

Moxie quietly led us to the Haines residence. She slid through Kellar's window. I could hear her shush him after he almost jumped up and screamed. "We're going to the dam, wanna come?" She asked, her voice muffled. "Sure. Let me get dressed first, though." He replied. Moxie gave him a quiet "ok" and slipped back through the window. I leaned against Ellington, and she wrapped an arm around me. "Are you sure you're up to this?" She murmured. "Yeah." I said, although I wasn't entirely sure. Kellar climbed through the window. His hair was messy and he looked generally tired, smiling a little at Moxie. She blushed and smiled back. "I called it." Ellington mouthed. I handed her a five dollar bill begrudgingly and she shrugged. We both stood.

I could still taste the blood in my mouth, which didn't make me feel any less sick. I coughed a couple times, vision blurred. Kellar looked at me with a slightly concerned look on his face, and Moxie gave him a look that said _not now_. "Ok, if you don't stop coughing up blood, I'm going to carry you." Ellington warned. Kellar looked alarmed. "Long story." I mumbled, shrugging off his concern.

I tried not to cough, but this actually made the following coughs worse. I shuddered, coughing spasmodically and deep. Ellington sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She walked over and picked me up easily. I blushed at her and she kissed me. "How the hell are you doing this?" I asked. "Eh, you're not that heavy." She shrugged. To be fair, she was a head taller than me, and I was pretty light. I slid out of her arms and leaned on her instead. She sighed and glared at me. "Fine. But if you feel too sick or tired or anything, we'll stop." She told me.

"Let's get going." I announced, taking Ellington's hand. "Road trip." Moxie muttered, chuckling a little. I chuckled a little too, and I think everyone did. Ellington put her arm around me, and I grinned. She smiled that smile, the one that could've meant anything.

 **I hope you enjoyed! I'll update soon..**

 **Please review! ❤️**

 **-Cal**


	3. Chapter 3

Moxie led the way along the slightly overgrown path to the dam. Ellington and I walked slower, bringing up the rear. As we walked, I occasionally coughed and Ellington occasionally sighed at me, obviously exasperated. Kellar and Moxie were chatting animatedly, occasionally blushing.

Soon, Moxie stopped.

"We're here." She murmured. We stood on the enormous stone structure that was the dam. It was crumbling and overgrown by plants in some places, and it was strangely serene in a haunting way. I looked down at the ocean below and gasped. It wasn't too far below us, but it still looked like a long way down.

The waves were crashing against the side of the dam, the water tumultuous and unpredictable. The moonlight danced over the water, making the ocean look silver in some places and stormy black in others. I shivered. There was a stone walkway leading down to the water, but it looked a little dangerous. Everything did in the middle of the night. I looked over at Ellington. Her face was illuminated by the silvery moonlight, her green eyes catlike and glowing in the darkness. She was obviously in awe. So was I, so much so that when I stepped forward I didn't realize the following:

I had stepped on an unstable spot in the dam, which was cracked and on the verge of falling. I stumbled back as it crumbled into the ocean, slipping. Ellington caught my arm and pulled me up. I thanked her shakily and she hugged me gently, brushing a kiss against my cheek. I blushed. Moxie grinned mischievously and motioned for us to go onto the aforementioned walkway.

We followed her, single file. As I walked along the path, I realized something odd and stopped.

The water was _glowing_. Just here. Not anywhere else. I looked over at Ellington. "Bioluminescent creatures come to the surface at night. They're perfectly harmless, most of them."she explained. I nodded and got a little closer to the edge, looking down at the ocean. It was lit up with a ghostly blue glow. I heard an odd noise and looked around, not thinking anything of it.

Suddenly, the piece of walkway I was standing on crumbled away, and I was falling.

I tried to spin around so my landing would be softer, but I hit my head on the wall. A sharp pain spread through the back of my head and I, being the _absolute_ genius I am, cried out as soon as I hit the choppy ocean, flooding my lungs with seawater.

I couldn't tell which way was up, and I flailed around in the water, disoriented. I eventually just let myself sink into the dark depths.

Everything went black.

 **OOOH, cliffhanger! Dun dun DUNNNNNN!**

 **I am posting the next chapter right now, don't worry.**

 **It may even be already posted by the time you read this.**

 **-Cal**


	4. Chapter 4

I started running as soon as L hit the water. He'd screamed as soon as he hit, presumably taking a lot of water into his lungs. He didn't surface after less than a minute. I pulled off my shoes and socks and laid my coat and backpack gently on the ground. I took a deep breath and dove into the ocean, entering the water gracefully. I swam down, frantically looking around in the water. I could feel the pressure in my ears as I dove. The bioluminescent plankton lit the water up a little bit, so I could see a little better. I managed to spot L, sinking through the water below me, evidently unconscious.

That's not good, I thought. You don't have much time. I dove down a little more and managed to latch onto his hand. I carefully pulled us both to the surface, swimming for the walkway. I gasped a little when I broke the surface. He stayed horribly limp in my arms, and I tried not to panic. When I reached the path, I scrambled up quickly, not caring if my arms were scraped. Him before me. Always. I gently deposited him onto the ground and dropped next to him. Moxie and Kellar ran over and knelt a little off to the side, worried. I looked him over very fast.

"I-I don't think he's breathing." I said quietly. Moxie went white, and Kellar took her hand, his face paling too.

 _Dammit, L, why did you have to be so difficult?_

I rolled him onto his back, pushed hard on his chest a few times, and pinched his nostrils shut, then blew as much oxygen as I could manage into his lungs. _You're not going to cry_ , I thought. _Don't cry_. I pulled back, then I did it again.I fell into a rhythm of sorts. Compressions,oxygen,pull back,repeat. After 4 times, I started to give up.

I let the tears fall. I'd failed.

Suddenly, L rolled onto his side, gasping and coughing up water. I pulled him into my arms, one hand on his back. He shivered. "Jeez, it's cold." He mumbled in between coughs. I glared at him.

"I just had to use mouth-to-mouth on you and you're complaining about the cold?!" I exclaimed, laughing a little. Now I knew he was going to be ok.

L sat up, shivering. He leaned over and coughed some more, water still coming up from his lungs. Then he leaned over the edge and legitimately threw up, disoriented and shivering. I cringed and patted his back gently. I handed him a water bottle from my backpack and he rinsed his mouth out, then looked at the water in disdain. "Unless you're going to get sick again, you should _probably_ back away from the edge, babe." I told him gently. He practically jumped into my arms, soaking wet and cold. I wasn't too cold, so so I grabbed my coat and wrapped it around him. I sat down and pulled my shoes and socks back on. I was still wet, but not shivering. Moxie jumped up and hugged L. He sort of just stood there for a few seconds and then hugged her back. He walked back over to me, one hand pressed to the back of his head, looking dizzy. "I hit my head." He murmured, almost incoherently. I wrapped a bandage from my backpack around his head and secured it tightly. "Snicket, I'm carrying you." I said firmly. He didn't protest. I picked him up gently and we started our trek back into town.

 **Poor Snicket! At least he's alive..**

 **More coming soon, I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Chapter 5

p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"I fell into a half-conscious daze as Ellington carried me to wherever we were going. I desperately hoped we weren't going to the Far East Suite. I wouldn't be able to sleep at all. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"As it turned out, we weren't. I snapped out of my daze momentarily to see that we had arrived at Black Cat Coffee. Satisfied with the location, I yawned a little and wrapped my arms back around Ellington, then fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, exhausted and hurting./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"When I tiredly opened my eyes, it was morning. I watched the sunlight filter through the window, then sat up. There was no one here but me, and suddenly I felt a little cold and very alone, because I was. I didn't like being alone, even though I'd been taught not to mind it. Ellington's coat was still wrapped around me, and my clothes were a little stiff from the saltwater, but no longer wet. All of me still hurt, and I probably had a broken nose. I felt my nose, and, to my surprise, it wasn't broken. I felt marginally better, which was good, because I didn't need Theodora asking questions.. I swore out loud, which I didn't typically do, and started walking. She typically woke up late, so I could probably get back in time. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"As I climbed through the window, I saw that, miraculously, she was still asleep. I noiselessly jumped to the floor, wincing when I hit. She didn't stir. I grabbed some clean clothes from my drawer and walked into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, and I looked back. I looked tired and a little beat up, as there was a fair amount of blood still on my face. I took a quick shower and got dressed even quicker, and brushed my teeth. I combed my dark hair in the mirror. It was, as usual, unruly and a little long again. I looked like I hadn't gotten beaten up, but I looked tired, maybe even a little ill./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"I'd looked like that a lot lately./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"I was tempted to try and get a couple minutes of rest, but I decided against it, as Theodora was most likely going to wake up soon. I decided to call Ellington. I walked into the lobby, and luckily no one was on the phone. I dialed Ellington's number and waited./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"1 ring. 2. 3./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"She didn't answer. I listened to her voicemail, though. "I'm off doing something you're not, so, call again later!" I sighed and left a message. "Ms. Feint, I just want to say I'm feeling better." I said, and hung up. I called Moxie next, who answered. "Hello?" She said. "Hey, M." I responded./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;""L! Are you feeling ok?" She asked, concern threading into her voice. I guess I sounded tired. I was. "Yeah, I-I'm feeling alright, I guess. Have you seen Ellington?"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;""Actually, I haven't. She stayed with you for a little while, then said something mysterious and vanished." She responded. I pursed my lips. "That's not unlike her, but tell me if you see her, ok?" "I will. Bye, L!" I hung up. I was a little worried. Typically, she'd leave a-/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"Note. I didn't check./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"I didn't stop running until I reached black cat coffee. She wasn't there. I checked everywhere for notes, and noticed something. It was a map, left on the counter. I walked over and opened it. It was of Stain'd by the sea and the areas around it. Someone had left a note inside it. I opened the note./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;""I go to seek a great perhaps. This town is dying, and I do not wish to die with it./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"To L: I love you."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"I went white and dropped the map. It was her handwriting, beautiful, looping cursive./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"She was gone, and I had to find her./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;" /p 


End file.
